Use of immunomagnetic separation for concentration and isolation of Cronobacter spp. in powdered infant formula

Cronobacter spp. can cause serious infections with high case fatality rates in neonates and premature babies. An infection has most commonly been associated with the use of contaminated powdered infant formula. An incorrect preparation of the infant beverage can present a risk for babies, even by low levels of Cronobacter in powdered sample. Therefore, development of a fast, sensitive and specific detection system is of high importance. With immunomagnetic separation (IMS) at least one cfu of Cronobacter spp. per 10 gram of contaminated powdered infant formula was reliably recovered while reducing the incubation time to 6 hours. The real-time PCR allows the identification of suspect positive samples within one day. Due to IMS, the isolation of the bacteria on agar plates was reduced from three days to two days.